Lost in the Dark, page 21
part #1 of Camden Point Romantic Suspense Series
“Anything new on the missing girl?” he asked.
“Not really.” The little voice in her head screamed not to share details with him. He could be genuinely concerned, but she’d learned over the years to trust her intuition. Bad things happened when she didn’t… like dying and concussions. “Although I heard you might have seen something the other day regarding another case. Who knew small towns could be such a hotbed of violence?”
“Makes you miss the expected chaos of New York.”
“You planning to go back?” she asked.
“No. I’m done with the city. Too much noise. Too many people. Everyone’s got a cell phone, recording your every move, but none step forward when you need them. I’m sure whatever is going on here is a fluke and things will quiet back down.”
“Doesn’t sound like you have faith we’ll find Hailey Sweeney.”
Carter slouched against the booth, his arm thrown over the top of the bench seat, and shrugged. “It’s been a week. You know the odds, Officer Medearis.”
She knew them all too well. Ashley didn’t care for Carter McGrady, nor did she need him to mansplain her job to her. “Well, luckily, I don’t have the backlog of cases as a PI that I had on the force. Finding Hailey Sweeney is my only concern, and I will find her.”
He slid from the booth and gave the table a double tap with his knuckle. “May fate be in your corner. My offer of help stands. If there’s anything I can do, please reach out.”
“Will do.” Not in this lifetime, buddy.
As soon as he’d exited the restaurant, Ash pulled out her phone and started typing. She shot off a text to a friend in NY, asking if they had any info on Carter McGrady. When she looked up, Carter had cut across the green and stood in front of the bank talking to another man. He looked familiar, but the light hurt her head. She closed her eyes, trying to figure out where she knew the other guy from, when cold air swirled around her. She opened her eyes and her otherworldly stalker stood next to the booth.
Oh, dear lord. How many magic mushrooms had this guy taken in his lifetime? Today’s outfit was straight out of the seventies. A denim, wide collared shirt with embroidered flowers, topped with a suede vest, paired with paisley bell bottoms and platform shoes. Strange enough, it looked good on him. That took talent and style to pull off a look like that.
“Hey, sorry, I’m late.” Nate slipped into the booth and the ghost disappeared. She glanced around to see if he’d relocated, but nope. Also gone were Carter McGrady and his friend.
Nate wanted nothing more than to wrap Ash up and whisk her back to bed. Based on the pinched expression, her head still hurt. The only thing he wanted more was to find the missing women before it was too late.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Bright light just isn’t my friend right now. Anything new?” She glanced again toward the window, twisting back to him.
“Our missing woman from Westerly is Christina Walton. She’s a college senior at the University of Rhode Island studying animal science, but lives at home with her family. She never came home last night, which is completely out of character.”
“Just like Hailey.”
“Yep. A couple of students remember seeing a black pickup idling in the parking lot shortly before Christina left the library after a study group. They stated that when the driver noticed them staring, he waved and drove off, which they found strange.”
“Either there are a lot of black pickups in the area, or that’s our guy,” she said.
“My thoughts exactly.” He reached for her hand. She should be home resting. “Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t need you passing out on me.”
She laced her fingers with his, giving him a soft smile. He could get used to this—the two of them together. “I’m tougher than I look, Detective. Besides, I can rest after we bring Hailey, Christina, Rachel, and whoever else they’ve grabbed safely home.”
“Rafe is doing a vehicle search back at the station. I thought we’d stake out the arcade.”
She shook her head. “Already on it. Lexie and Kat are there now. Also, my computer buddy is doing an owner search for the truck. Figure it can’t hurt. I want a closer look at some of those properties we passed yesterday.”
“Okay, let’s roll, but I’m driving.”
“You’re not getting an argument from me.” She pulled a pair of sunglasses and a hat from her backpack.
As they drove through the back roads of New London County, Ashley stared—mesmerized—out the passenger window. Nate admitted the scenery was beautiful—not as beautiful as the woman next to him—with leaves unfolding, flowers popping up, pastures filled with grazing horses and cows, but it wasn’t what he’d called compelling. Acid ate away at the lining of his gut as he worried over Ash. Was she pushing it? What if she got sidelined again? Got another concussion or worse?
He’d already lost one woman he loved. He wasn’t about to lose another.
Nate repeated the words back in his head. Woman he loved. He let that thought marinate. Turned it over. Dismissed it. Then went back to those three little words. Yeah, he loved Ashley. Had since practically their first meeting, with her tough, no-nonsense attitude, intelligence, and dedication to the job. But it was that first night they’d bumped into each other at The High Tide.
She’d sauntered in like she owned the joint. Confident, with a don’t-fuck-with-me look that had even some of the less sober guys stepping back. Then, over shots, she’d let that mask slip just enough that he could see beyond. Could see the loneliness and softness.
Ashley Medearis had stolen his heart, and she didn’t even know it.
Or maybe she did.
Maybe that’s why she’d called things off. Or maybe she’d gotten scared. Whatever the reason, he’d convinced her to give them a chance, and he didn’t plan to blow it by blurting out his feelings.
She glanced his way. “What?”
“Nothing. Just wondering what’s so fascinating in those fields.” He kept his eyes on the road. Everything else got locked up inside for now.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She stared at it for a moment, then started typing. “This morning, while waiting for you, I had a chat with Carter McGrady. Retired NYPD.”
“Yeah, I know him. Did he have anything new to share?”
“No.”
“He’s too friendly.” Ash’s words gripped his attention. Nate didn’t want to consider that Ashely might be attracted to the guy. The mere thought of her with someone else ripped him to pieces.
“In what way?” he finally said.
“Checking in on the case. Offering to help. A potential witness with limited information. Enough to appear legit, but not enough to really help.”
He cut a glance her way. Ashley had good instincts. She blamed herself for Rachel’s kidnapping, but it wasn’t on Ash. She wasn’t Wonder Woman. She was a cop, and now a PI, and damn good at both, but that didn’t mean she was indestructible or infallible. There was always someone bigger, badder, or meaner.
“Did you know him or of him in New York?”
“No. I’m not sure if he’s just rubbing me wrong because he insinuated that we’d missed our window to find Hailey or something else. I sent a text to a friend who might know Carter. We’ll see what he says. Also, I saw him talking to someone this morning.”
“That’s not a crime. It’s almost a law in Camden Point to be sociable.” He glanced over at her again.
“I know. What’s up with that?” She rolled her eyes at him, but the smile gave him hope. “When he left the diner, Carter walked across the green and started talking to some guy. He seemed familiar, but I can’t place him and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Headache?” he asked.
“Yeah, and if I’m being honest, things are a little hazy.”
“That’s the concussion. You should be home resting.”
“I’m sitting in a car. Couch or car. There’s no difference.”
Arguing with the woman was pointless. Something he’d need to remember if they made this thing between them work.
“What did the guy look like?”
She turned back to the passenger window for a moment before looking at him. “Tall, skinny…” Her eyes closed as she tilted her head like she was trying to shake the memory loose. “Caucasian with light brown hair.”
“Sounds like one of our robbery suspects or—”
“About a quarter of the men in the county.”
“Maybe after we check these properties out, we should stop by and pay the helpful Carter McGrady a visit.”
Ash’s phone dinged. Nate turned down a rutted dirt road that led to an old, faded red barn they’d passed the day before.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”
He busted out laughing. “Sorry, haven’t heard that in a long time.”
“My grandpa used to say it all the time.”
“Tell me that was good news.”
“I wish, but it is interesting. My friend worked in the same precinct as Carter. Seems the good detective was under investigation from Internal Affairs.”
“What was the charge?” Nate knew lots of cops fell under IA’s watch at one time or another. It didn’t mean they were dirty.
“He doesn’t say for sure, but gossip said conduct unbecoming, possible bribery. The rumor mill went into full drive when Carter put in his retirement papers, then disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yep. Seems two guys stopped by his place shortly after he left the force. He cleared the place out, and the landlord didn’t have a forwarding address. No one’s heard from him or about him until today.”
None of that made Carter guilty. The guy was probably tired of all the bullshit and politics. He’d said as much to Ash.
“Look, I’m not saying he’s involved in these disappearances, but I’d really like to know what he was talking to that guy about and how they know each other. If nothing else, he might lead us to our persons of interest.”
A good cop kept his or her personal feelings out of a case. He’d been taught that from day one at the academy and drilled into him by his first partner. They also focused on facts, but Nate couldn’t help thinking about the new information Ash had learned, paired up with the knowledge that perps often liked to get involved in their own cases.
“Let’s check this place out and then go pay our friend a call.”
Carter McGrady had just moved himself closer to the top of the suspect board.
Chapter 17
The barn was a bust. The only living beings they’d found were a lot of spiders and mice. The roof sagged in the middle. The stall walls and doors lay on the floor. Undisturbed cobwebs and dirt coated the entire place. Still, it had been worth a shot. Miles separated it from its nearest neighbor. It sat back from the road. Any noise, like screaming, wouldn’t have been heard. And Ashley had caught a glimpse of a woman when they’d pulled up.
Not an ordinary woman.
A ghost.
Or a wisp.
Compared to Ashley’s friend in the hospital, this one was more transparent and colorless. What that meant, she hadn’t a clue. From what she could tell, the woman had been in her late teens to early twenties when she’d passed. She’d also looked a lot like Destiny Zagata, the woman found in the woods, but it was hard to be sure. The ghost appeared when Nate pulled up. She waited for Nate and Ashley to exit the car, then disappeared inside the barn. Ash had been sure the spirit was leading them to the other women.
But they’d found nothing.
They’d searched high and low. Lifted boards and stomped on the floor. They’d walked the perimeter twice. They’d called out Hailey’s and the other women’s names until they were hoarse.
As Nate backed up and headed toward the main road, Ashley had caught a second sighting of the ghost in the loft window. The missing women might not be at that abandoned farm, but somewhere on that property, a young woman had died. After they found the others, Ashley made a promise to the silent spirit that she’d be back to find her.
Nate reached over and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze.
“We’ll find them.”
“I know, but Carter was right about one thing.” She glanced in the rearview mirror, no longer able to see the barn. “The odds are not in our favor.”
“Screw the odds.” Anger laced through Nate’s voice. A heavy feeling landed in the pit of her stomach. If Nate was losing his calm, things were not looking good.
“I’m going to send a quick text to Lexie and Kat. Check in with them and let them know where we’re headed.”
“Good idea. I tried to text Rafe, but I’ve got no service out here.”
She held up her phone. Zero bars. So much for nationwide service. “How do you want to play it with Carter?”
“Keep it simple. Cops helping cops. That’s been his line all along, right?”
“Sounds good.” They rode along in silence for the next several miles. She kept her eyes open for other places to investigate, but her mind kept going back to the barn. Something was there. She knew it. She almost said as much to Nate, then clamped her mouth shut when she realized what she was about to do—out herself.
Would he believe her? Or take her straight to the nearest psych ward?
Telling him her missing dad had been Mafia was one thing. That was out of her control, just bad ancestry roulette. Admitting—out loud—that she could see, hear, and talk with the dead? Pretty sure that was asking to live in a custom, padded studio apartment that was missing the bathroom, kitchen, and fabulous view.
Or to be thrown off the force for good?
And fired from LexaKat PI.
Somehow, Ashley couldn’t imagine strait-laced, buttoned-up, by-the-books, feet-planted-squarely-on-the-ground Nate Daines believing in ghosts.
That was like asking her to believe in vampires and werewolves, which were real only on the pages of her favorite romance books.
But she wasn’t crazy. Sure, she’d thought she was for the first few months, and yes, she still had those moments when she questioned her sanity. Mostly, those thoughts centered on her and Nate. If they were going to have any kind of genuine connection, she’d have to trust in Nate to believe her. Or to respect her enough that he said he believed her. No. The word ricocheted loud and hard in her head. If they were going to make it for the long haul, he had to believe her and she had to believe in him.
“We’re almost there,” Nate said.
Ash tucked all thoughts of relationships away. Hailey Sweeney, Rachel Calder, and who knew how many others needed their full attention.
“How far is this from that barn?”
“About ten miles.” Nate glanced at his GPS display. “It’s only about two or three if you’re a crow. Why? What are you thinking?”
That the ghost of Destiny Zagata just tried to lead them to the others? Nope, better rephrase that. “Just a gut feeling we missed something back there.”
“We’ll need more than a feeling for a warrant. That was pushing it this morning.”
“I don’t need no stinking warrant.” She flashed Nate a smile, really liking the side of PI work that didn’t have to deal with red tape. “But we need to do this by the book, so if Carter is involved, he doesn’t get off.”
“Agreed. Mind if I take the lead with Carter?”
Ashley twisted in her seat to get a better look at Nate. Was he kidding? “Why? Because you’re a man?”
“Yes, and no. You’ve talked to Carter. How would you describe him?”
“A misogynistic, arrogant jerk.”
“Exactly. Plus, right now he doesn’t see you as a cop. You’re a PI. Doesn’t matter that you’re only on sabbatical from the force. Guys like Carter believe there are only two ways you leave the force—retire or die.”
She blew out a breath. Fine. She didn’t have to like it to recognize the truth for what it was. Not carrying a shield meant something to a guy like Carter. The downside of PI work. She’d also put off getting her Connecticut carry permit, not having intended to stay so long. Unfortunately, that meant she was unarmed.
Nate turned down a winding dirt road that seemed to appear out of nowhere in the middle of a forest. After a few seconds, a small, two-story farmhouse came into view. Carter McGrady’s deep red Lexus sat in front of the attached garage. By the time they parked, Carter was standing on his front porch. He leaned against the post at the top of the stairs.
“Afternoon,” he said, as his gaze bounced between her and Nate. “I’m hoping you’re here with good news and not asking me to be part of a search party.”
Even though Carter had glanced her way, it was clear he’d already dismissed her and was speaking to Nate. One brother in blue to another. Fine. She’d use his bias to her benefit. While Nate made his way to the bottom of the stairs, she stayed back on the pretense of smelling the flowers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carter smirk at her before turning to face Nate.
Ashley wandered down the front of the house a few feet away, but where she could still hear the conversation.
“We’re here on a different matter. Was hoping you could help us out.”
“Of course. Glad to.”
“Can you tell us what your relationship is to Jonah or Drew Barrett?”
Carter scratched at the stubble along his jaw, appearing deep in thought before he shrugged and gave a shake of his head. “Never heard of them. What’s their deal?”
“They’re brothers. You were seen talking to one of them this morning in town.” Nate ignored Carter’s question.
“Oh, that guy. The one by the bank?”
Nate took out his notebook, flipped a few pages. “Tall, around six three, lanky, mid-to-late twenties, mousy brown hair.”
“He was a stranger asking about the diner. Wanted to know if the food was any good. Guess he’s new to town or he wouldn’t have had to ask.”
“You’ve never seen him before that?” Nate asked as Ashley slipped around to the side of the garage.
